5 on Friday

1. All 3 of my kids still nap at the same time, but I would still love to make these. Sometimes nap time is not enough quiet time! 

2.  Some day I will have a craft room. 

3. I'm working on this! 

4. I am kind of obsessed with the idea of having a blue house and a yellow door.

5.  Strawberries were .98 this week! I will be making this yummy syrup!

Have a good weekend!

Photo Challenge Update

Do you remember the photo challenge I posted at the end of 2014? I hoped to do an update every other week, but we are 3 whole months into the year and this is only my third update. It has been a busy new year with a new baby, a move that has brought lots of change and adjustment and a new job for me. I am grateful for this challenge though, because it has forced me to take out my "nice camera" and play around with it, which I do not get to do nearly enough. I have kind of put my desire to really learn how to use it on the back burner. Here is my update. Remember, I have not yet done any editing, so this is the best that I can do for now. 

cake

feet (I couldn't decide, which one I liked best)

blankie & all tuckered out 

Marriage Monday: Spouse vs kids- Finding a balance

I love Dr. Matt Townsend.  He is a relationship coach, life coach and communication expert. My husband and I have gone to his Date Night and laughed so hard and left feeling uplifted and determined to grow closer together. I have also done his Life Changer program. I am a huge fan! Watch this short 8 minute video with some great insight and reminders to find balance in your marriage.

1. Find the compliment not the critique.
2. Lose the excuse that you do not have time. Invest your time it what really matters.
3. Focus on the important and not the urgent.
4. You have to get time together on the schedule. Every single day. If it's not on the schedule, it's not going to happen!

5 on Friday

1. I am making these labels for inside my children's dresser so they can better put their clothes away.
Find the free printable here.

2. Just placed an order for bows. I love Bloomies Handmade. 

3. I think this is a cute, simple idea. 

4. We broke down and bought a Blendtec. Well, I did... for my husband's birthday, but if I didn't buy you better believe he would have got it in the very near future... like his next trip to Costco. Excited to make some delicious smoothies. This rise and shine smoothie looks delish and is on my list to try. 

5. I have decided to become an Usborne Book rep. I love children's books and am passionate about early childhood literacy. Want to check out some of the titles? Check here. 

Happy Friday! Yay for the weekend! 

Marriage Monday: Add some sweetness to your marriage!

Does your hubby like sweetness as much as mine? My poor husband is sweet deprived most of the time because if I keep it around I will eat it, so I just don't get it very often. I thought these little love notes (free printable) that go along with candy bars were fun. Check them out here.  Don't see what you are looking for? Check out this list of sayings for just about every candy out there! 

Marriage Monday: Geocaching Date

One of my favorite dates is geocaching. 

What is geocaching? Watch this short video if you are not familiar with it. 

Check out this site. There are so many geocaches out there you wouldn't even believe it! There are 846 geocaches near me! It's exciting, a unique date, fun and free! We get to work together and laugh together! There is also a mobile app. Just search "geocaching" in the app store. 

If you try this out or have done it before, comment and let me know what you think of it! 

What I hate about Motherhood

You read that title right... I said the word hate, even though I tell my kids we don't use that word! I 

•  I hate having to see my kids get left out when going to the park. My kids are really outgoing and usually make friends where ever we go. However, on occasion their sweet "hellos" or "what's your names?" are not reciprocated and it breaks my heart. This one time there were two girls maybe a couple years older than my little one and she tried really hard to play with them and they kept running away. My sweet little girl thought they were playing until one of them said they are the "queens of the park" and to stop following them! Kids can be ruthless and down right rude. I want my kids to be liked and hate to see their confidence shot down by immature kids that don't know any better or if they do are mean. I want to protect them from the world.
•  I hate seeing my kids not feeling well. Without fail sick kids means constant waking in the night, sometimes with either my husband or myself laying on the couch with them and very little sleep. It also means lots of snot, laundry if their is throw up involved and crying. I hate it not just because the lack of sleep and crankiness that inevitably comes along with it, but because I want them to be healthy and can't stand to see them feel less than awesome.
• I hate when they grow out of clothes. Not just because that is more money that I need to spend to get a new wardrobe, but because that means they will never be that little again.
•  I hate going to the grocery store with my kids. Not just because they want to buy everything in the store and there is always a tantrum at the checkout... why the heck do they put candy bars and gum at the checkout line?! I hate it because I want to give my kids the world and wish I could buy them everything, but not only could I not afford to do that, I want them to learn that we don't always get what we want in this life and that can be a tough lesson to learn sometimes.
•  I hate telling my kids to calm down because I don't want to stifle their energetic and fun personalities, but my neighbors below us I'm sure hate the noise.
•  I hate potty training. Not only because that means we are trapped in the house 2 feet away from the little potty for a week, but because that's just another sign that they are growing up and saying goodbye to their babyhood.
•  I hate that every time we go out and no matter how bad I wanted and needed the break that I can't stop thinking about them and how I think about all the things they would enjoy if they had come along. Seeing things through a child's eyes is magical.
•  I hate how my kids can call me out when I am in a bad mood. I hate it because I really do want to always be happy for them and hate that they have to see me otherwise.
•  I hate crying kids in the car because most of the time (not all the time!) the tears are legitimate and they need a drink or are just so tired and need to be held, rocked and put in their nice cozy beds with lots of hugs and kisses, but at that moment there is nothing I can do for them.

I LOVE being a mother. There are rough days, but nothing gives me more joy! 

What's Cooking Wednesday: Joanie's Heavenly Corned Beef & Cabbage

Today's recipe comes right in time for St. Patty's Day, which is also my birthday! Growing up I didn't like corned beef and cabbage, but I think it is mostly because it was tradition to eat it for that Green Day and I probably was wanting Red Robin or Mac n Cheese for my birthday dinner instead! With this recipe, I am begging for corned beef and cabbage for my birthday!


Corned Beef (I like Bailey's from Costco the best)
Yellow MustardBrown SugarPotatoesCarrotsCabbage

Trim some of the excess fat but not all. (it adds flavor)
Put in crock pot and cover with water. Sprinkle with some Pickling Spice. Cook on low for about 8 hours or until fork tender. When done take it out of the water, but don't throw the water out. Now remove any extra fat. Then place the meat on foil lined cookie sheet and spread yellow mustard all over the meat. Then cover it with brown sugar. Bake at 325 for 20 min or so. The brown sugar/mustard will make a bubbly crust on the meat. Put the water in a separate pot to boil vegetables. Cook cut up potatoes and carrots in the reserved water (you will need to add more water to it) in the last 8 min of boiling time add cut up cabbage.

Marriage Monday: Love Languages

Do you know your love language? My husband and I were not shocked at one another results, but it was a good reminder. We recommend taking the quiz together, even if you already know each others language and then make a goal of how you can better "speak" each other's love languages. My husband's love language is different then mine and is actually towards the bottom of my love languages. My love language however, is not the most important to him, but is towards the top. It was eye opening to me and made me realize I need to put extra attention and effort into speaking his language. Check out the quiz by following this link. It doesn't take long and can make a huge difference.

Marriage Monday: Lucky In Love

I didn't tell Taylor about this new Marriage Monday series ahead of time. He saw my post and immediately texted me to tell me how much he loves the idea.  He just may be more excited than I am about it! I made him promise not to read my post each week. He said he will wait a week and hold me accountable and make sure I did what I shared and I hope he does!

I know we are still a couple weeks away, but 1. I'm a planner and 2. I love the holidays and any excuse to celebrate. With that said, I love these St. Patrick Day printables by the Dating Divas.

Check it out, print them out and then come back to this post and comment! Share with us your lucky man's reaction! Here are the links: here and here.

5 on Friday

5 on Friday... a day late. Yesterday we were busy celebrating our sweet Sage's 4th birthday. I should have set this to post yesterday, but since I didn't... here it is!

1.  Excited for Spring even if we have had a mild winter. My kids will love making these simple bird feeders and watching the birds. Simply put peanut butter with bird seed on a toilet paper roll.

2. I have all the ingredients for this. I just may need to try this. 

3. I am kinda on a roll with Spring. Maybe because the last few days have reminded me that it is indeed still winter even though we have had lots of days that have felt like Spring. Love these fonts. 

4. I am currently eating a few too many of these as I type. No, they are not Whole 30 compliant. I totally felt so much better when I was on Whole 30, but our move threw me through a little bit of a loop. These sweet, creamy lemony bites of goodness can help get you through any kind of loop! They currently sell them at Costco. You can thank me later! My sweet husband dragged me there the other night insisting that I was going to cry as soon as I tried them. I just about did. I LOVE lemon. Check then out. 

5. I really want this purse. 

Hope you are enjoying your weekend! 

Product Review: The Little Black Dress Jewelry Organizer

I love this Little Black Dress jewelry organizer from The Container Store. So much better than the tangled mess I had in my jewelry box under my bathroom sink. I had to go several times because it goes out of stock just as quick as they get more in. Wish someone would have told me about this sooner, so I thought I would share with you! It is two-sided and hangs on a rod or hook to maximize space and swivels so you can see your jewelry collection easily, with clear pockets on one side and hanging loops on the other. It has 39 clear vinyl pockets and 24 hook and loop closures. Cost: $19.99

What's Cooking Wednesday: Creamy Chicken and Asparagus Pasta

Who doesn't love a good pasta dish? Pasta is comfort food. Pasta with bacon and a creamy sauce is naughty and divine. I found this recipe off of Cooking Classy with a Sprinkle of Fancy and knew it would be a favorite. We had this for dinner last night and I am counting down the hours until 11:00 when I can have leftovers. 11:00 is a perfectly acceptable lunch time when it is something you cannot wait to eat. Here is the recipe.

Read on for a few little hints that made this easy. Super easy. I cooked this with a sick toddler at my feet. Heating already cooked bacon would be the easiest, but next easiest is cooking your bacon in the oven. Follow this link to find out how to do that. Or maybe that is a known way to cook bacon? It's fairly new to me and it cooked the bacon to perfection while the pasta boiled and asparagus steamed. I bet the homemade alfredo is tasty, but my store bought jar of alfredo did the trick and saved me time and thinking. I always bake my chicken in the oven ahead of time and then chop and sauté it with garlic when I'm ready to use it. Warning: this recipe does use lots of pans- one for the asparagus, pasta, chicken and then the cookie sheet for the bacon, but it is so worth it. Cook it on a night your not on dish duty! Or maybe you have a husband like mine who has declared the dishes his job since the day we were married. I'll save that mushy stuff for Marriage Monday. Anyways, I simply drained my pasta, added my jar of alfredo and some fresh shredded parmesan cheese and gently mixed in my bacon, chicken and asparagus.

Delish! Hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did. Comment on this post and let me know what you think of it. I promise I'm not exaggerating how good it is! Is it 11:00 yet?!

Picture courtesy of Cooking Classy. 

Marriage Mondays

Okay ladies, I am back in "business". I took a few week hiatus while I moved, but am ready to blog again. Not only am I back, but I am going to start a new series called "Marriage Mondays." I realize my blog is Motherhood in the Major Leagues and is about Motherhood, but I could not be a mother without my wonderful husband nor could I be the mother I strive to be without his support and encouragement, so I feel it is just as important if not more important to strengthen that relationship. Every Monday I will be posting an article, idea, activity with the purpose of nurturing that relationship.  This is something that has been on my mind for some time now.

Let me start this series by introducing you to my babies' daddy without getting to mushy. Or maybe mushy is okay for Marriage Mondays? I don't know how I feel about it... Taylor and I met in July of 2009, were engaged in September 2009 and married December 2009. I knew I was going to marry him the moment we met. In fact I may have made a wish on a dandelion during that first date. The next day we were both saying we were crazy, but were talking about marriage and both knew it was right. Taylor is "tailor made" for me. We love watching documentaries and the Bachelor together. Our favorite series right now is Blacklist and we enjoy laughing together as we watch reruns of The Office. Our favorite pass time also includes reading funny product reviews. A perfect date would include sushi, although we love Buffalo Wild Wings and Texas Roadhouse. This man of mine works so hard for our family and is the most selfless person I know. I am so blessed and I am so excited for this series to give me a little push to do more for him. Sometimes and I hope you can relate, but it is so easy as a mother to put the kids needs first and push the hubs to the back burner. So here is to Marriage Mondays! Be sure to check in next week!

5 on Friday

1. Today is the last day of my Whole30 challenge! I don't have any plans to stop. I feel like this last month of eating "clean" has been such an eye opening experience as to all the sugar that is added to food and also has helped me create good habits. I have lost 14 lbs and still have a ways to go to get back to pre pre pregnancy weight, but I have also experienced a lot of non scale victories. I feel good and crave good food. I'm looking to introduce more paleo foods to my family. Any tips/recipes are welcome! :)

2. I cannot grocery shop without checking out deals2meals. It is a monthly subscription of just $4.99 that saves me so much more than that little fee!

3. Have you checked out my instagram account? username: majorleaguemoms

4. I have sick kids this week. We have already finished a bottle of this wonderful stuff. 

5.  Where has this little moving tip been all my life?

Hope you all have a nice weekend. I will be spending mine packing and also running errands trying to plan a birthday party for my sweet almost 2 year old. 

Photo Callenge Update

See my original post about the photo challenge here.

Previous posts with picture update here.

This whole taking pictures thing is hard! I thought maybe I could take pictures of our little man for his blessing day... wrong! I ended up calling my talented photographer sister in law and asking her to help me out. She took the most lovely pictures. Here are a few pictures from the week. I really like this challenge because it gets me to really think about the pictures I am taking. They are not perfect, but I love them all the same. I love these little people of mine. I am also looking into getting Lightoom so I can start learning how to edit... hopefully that will happen soon! Enjoy! 

Once again these are taken in AV mode so I set the aperture and ISO and the shutter speed is on auto. Is that right photographers? Correct me if I'm wrong and feel free to give any advice, but remember to be nice! :)

bath time

crafts

play time

5 on Friday

1. We are blessing our sweet boy tomorrow. He is wearing his dad's blessing outfit from when he was a baby.

2. I am on day 23 of Whole 30 and plan on transitioning to Paleo afterwards. I really feel better than I have since I can remember. Making drinking lemon water a habit as well. I really want to be healthy for my family and when I feel good I can be the best version of myself I can be. 

3. This is an inspiring post that speaks to my heart. I want to be a fun mom. I want to enjoy being home and with my kids and not get stuck on auto pilot, which is easy to do. I want to make fun memories and be silly. I want to smile and laugh every day with the ones I love. Read the post here.

4. truth 

5.  Thought this was funny. 

Have a nice weekend! Do something fun and relax! 

How to Prevent Cavities

Between moving to Utah/getting married and having our first little one I worked at a dental hygiene college. I am passionate about teaching and love working with children. That is all I had ever done. In fact I left a job I loved working with a Head Start Program in Arizona. I was so disappointed to not be able to find a job in that field. However, in hind sight, what a blessing that job was working at the dental hygiene college. I met some of my very good friends there. One of them being Candi. Read more about Candi and her feelings of motherhood in a previous post I did about her here. I learned a lot during my time there and continue to learn a lot from my dental hygiene friends. Candi was sweet enough to write up a post to share with us about what we can do to prevent cavities!

via google images

I have a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene.  I am passionate about prevention.  I love learning about dentistry. I spend time reading to my baby about different dental topics almost everyday.  I just can't get enough!!   Its exciting to think that if you do your part that your children can have a healthy mouth. Healthy mouth = a healthy body.

I have seen a lot of moms discouraged because their child has a mouth full of cavities. The mom is faced with a huge expense of getting the decay taken care of.  Not to mention, a child that is terrified of the dentist now probably will be for life.   The mother doesn't know what she could have done different.  I don't think its  the mom fault at all.  I think there is a huge gap of knowledge between dental professionals and parents.  

 I must say that when I first started in the dental field I was under the impression (that most parents are) that cavities were caused because the child ate too much sugar.  Or that some people just had weak teeth. I thought that probably everyone was going to experience having a cavity at some point...and if he/she didn't..it was because he/she got lucky.  I no longer think that way.  Most parents think that its not if but when their child gets a cavity.....

  ATTENTION Parents:  CAVITIES ARE PREVENTABLE!!! 

Some parents might think that it doesn't matter if their kids teeth get cavities if they're not in the childs permanent teeth.  The truth is the baby teeth can affect the permanet teeth coming in, so it does matter. Also if you are proactive in taking care of your babies mouth he/she will avoid alot of dental pain.  And you will save a lot of money.  Not to mention, a healthy mouth is directly related to a healthy body.  Give your baby/child the best start you can.  

Here are some things I like to tell my patients.  If you guys have any questions please write a comment and I will write back.  (also let me know if you want to see any of the journals I got my info from)

First things first...Take care of your own mouth!!  The harmful bacteria in your mouth can be transferred to your child’s mouth.  Studies indicate that babies mostly have their moms bacteria.  As moms we kiss, blow food off, lick pacifers (eww), etc.... So get your mouth under control so you are not passing bacteria that causes cavites to your baby.  People often don't think of cavities as something that can be passed...Bacteria that cause cavities can be passed from person to person!! 

For those that aren't familiar with how cavities work its not about how much sugar but how often.  I learned in school that it would be better for you to give your kids ALL of their Halloween candy at once than to have them take a bite of a candy bar every hour (probably not the best thing for their health to have it all at once ;) but its just an example.

 Its about FREQUENCY not QUANTITY. Everytime sugar or other carbs are consumed the bacteria feeds off the sugar and produces acid.  The acid drops the PH of the mouth and demineralization of the teeth takes place.  It takes time for the mouth to get back to a normal PH where it can start remineralizing again.

What can you do?  I made a list of things you as a parent can do. 

I included cariostatic foods.  Which are foods that actually help prevent tooth decay.  These foods make great snacks and are great foods to end sugary meals or beverages with.  There was a study done where they ended school aged childrens meals with a cube of swiss cheese and the caries rates dropped significantly.  I encourage you to add some of these foods to your kids diets.  Or atleast rinse with some water after your child eats a sugar or carb food.

I also included xylitol.  For those that are not familiar with xylitol it is a natural sugar.  (The stuff is amazing).  It comes from birch bark, fruits (including strawberries), corn cobs and even your body makes small amouts.  Xylitol acts like a fiber in the body so it doesn't give you sugar spikes (also has less calories than sugar).  Xylitol has been studied for over 100 years.  It has been studied in dentistry for over 40 years.  The bacteria in the mouth cannot process xylitol (it has 5 carbon units instead of 6) and therefore cannot produce acid.  They have found 80% reduction in cavities in children that are exposed to xyltiol 5x daily. (Brush kids teeth with xylitol and then give them gum, candy or mints after meals that are 100 % xylitol).   In some countries xylitol is given to kids at school as a way to prevent cavities. 

Probably the MOST important thing you can do is Brush your kids teeth after them!!!!  They are not old enough to even attempt to brush alone until they can tie their own shoe laces. And DON'T let them sip on sugary juices or beverages throughout the day and especially not in bed.  (this includes putting the baby down with milk)


BRUSHING

• Wipe infants teeth off with a damp cloth or xylitol wipes (Spiffles)
• Always brush your child’s teeth after they do (at least until age 7)
• Set timer or play/sing a fun song for two minutes 

Brush with age appropriate toothbrush and toothpaste or xylitol toothpaste

•               “smear” of toothpaste for children less than two years of age.

•               “pea-size” amount of toothpaste for children two to five years.

FLOSSING

• Floss teeth that are in contact with one another 

FLUORIDE

• Fluoride drops starting at 6 months of age (in non-fluoridated areas) 
• ACT Fluoride mouth rinse for children 6 and older.  (Dip toothbrush in act fluoride if your child cannot spit.) 

CARIOSTATIC FOODS 

•  End snacks or meals with the following foods that help prevent tooth decay:

hard cheeses (like swiss)

yogurt

 milk

nuts

 popcorn

dark chocolate (80 % cocoa)

licorice (from health food stores)

 fibrous fruits (including apples, not apple juice)

  vegetables (like celery)

XYLITOL 

• Expose teeth to 5-10 grams of xylitol (= 2 tsp of xylitol) 5x daily- Studies show it reduces tooth decay up to 80% and ear infections in a recent study by 93 %
• Brush morning and night with xylitol toothpaste. 3x daily let your child end meals with a xylitol product.
• Xylitol gum (Spry)
•  8 ounces water with 1/4 tsp of Xylitol dissolved
• Xylitol mints or candy
•  Xylitol lollypops

AVOID The Following

• Sippy cups or bottles at sleep time
• Juice or sugary beverages in-between meals
• Frequent snacking on sugary foods ( foods not listed above)
• Sharing toothbrushes

Limit The Following:

• Sticky, Starchy or Sugary foods that can stay on the teeth for extended periods of timeExamples: Fruit Roll-Ups, potato chips, candy or sugary mouth lozenges or gum

Products To Be Purchased:

• Xylitol products can be found at your local health food store or on the Internet
• ACT mouthwash and children’s toothpaste can be found in the dental isle of most drug stores or super markets

Service Project: Busy Bags for the Hospital

As I mentioned in a previous post, we have chosen the scripture verse in Joshua "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord" to be our family motto. Loving and serving others is something that is really important that we instill into our children and our family. So, we introduced this to our family and no doubt we will introduce it again and again as our kids are a little older. Our almost 4 year old definitely understands though and she was really excited about this project. We introduced our family motto and had it printed and put in a place where we could all see it and be reminded daily.

For a family night we assembled 20 busy kits for the hospital. Busy bags for the hospital are inexpensive and easy for kids to do, especially on an assembly line. Busy bags help kids that are in the ER or waiting for procedures at that hospital by giving them something to do to pass the time.The kits do not need to be anything extravagant. We simply printed coloring pages from online, stapled 4 prints together and bagged and attached a few crayons. Even our almost 2 year old was able to help. 

I also got lucky while looking for Christmas stocking stuffers at Michael's Craft Store and found these activity packs that have a little coloring book, markers and stickers all included. I got a few for my girls and they rung up at $.25. After getting back home I knew I needed to go back and get more for this project for that price. When I went back there were only a few left, but I found the exact same in another area, but they were marked $2.00. Long story short, $2.00 was the correct price, but since there were a few ringing up at 25 cents, they honored that price and I got 40 of them!

We took all 60 of our activity bags to the hospital. It was difficult for our little ones to understand why they could not give them to the kids themselves, but I think it is something they will remember. They knew the had just done a good thing.

Most hospitals should have a volunteer page that will link you to a donations page with more information on items they are looking for and how to get it to them.

10 Tips for Better Behavior Part 2

Did you find any of the resources helpful from Part 1. Here are the second half of Amy McCready's tips from this article with some more hopefully helpful resources!

6. Simplify family rules and stay firm. This is one that I need to work on with my little family. My kids who are almost 4 and 2 are getting old enough to understand and old enough to help set some rules. I would love to have a family night and write our rules out along with consequences. Amy encourages that the rules be simple and concise.

Amy hosts a free webinar that gives a little sample of her program and shares the 5 R's of fair and effective consequences. Those 5 R's include:

1. Respectful—you need to be respectful to your child and to yourself. If you can’t deal with the situation right away, wait until you can be calm, collected, and respectful.

2. Related to the misbehavior—Make sure the consequence is related to the behavior so the learning event can take place. For example, if your daughter back talks, you shouldn't discipline her by grounding her from her sleepover.

3. Reasonable in duration—The discipline should be reasonable for the age of the child. McCready recommended taking a puzzle away from a three-year-old for a day and video game privileges away for a week for a teenager.

4. Revealed in advance—You must reveal the rule and the consequence in advance. This gives your child the opportunity to make the choice. This gives them power and control over the situation.

5. Repeat—Have the child repeat the rule back to you. You now know that your child understands the rule and the consequence, and you now have a verbal agreement.

7. Send Time Out to The Side Lines. I am guilty of time out at times, but in all honesty I know it is not very effective. She suggests asking, “What can we do differently next time?” and role play the do-over.

8. Just Say No to Saying No. Find opportunities to say yes and redirect "no's" into a more positive option. 

9. Don’t worry, be happy. Be the example you want your kids to see. Think about how your kids might describe you to their friends – would they say you’re fun and lighthearted, or that you’re stressed and bossy? Try changing your energy by simply smiling more. It will help you keep calmer in times of stress, and your kids will notice and keep their behavior more positive, too.

10. Don’t ignore the source of misbehavior. You really should sign up for her free webinar. Again, here is the link, but she suggests 3 reasons as sources of misbehavior: attention, power and control. Find out what is causing the misbehavior.